[Racer Duck]

When the #46 Ford rolls off at Daytona, it may look much the same as it did in years past, but in reality, much has changed inside the Larry Clement-owned camp.

For one, the famous ARCA RE/MAX Series machine will be without its longtime occupant – nine-time champion Frank Kimmel after he announced he was forming his own team for 2008.

Clement will still be the car owner however, but the car will have a new cast of characters in and around it in 2008, most notably, a new driver.

That new driver is Denver, North Carolina racer Matt Carter, son of longtime NASCAR Cup crew chief/car owner Travis Carter. And if the stars line-up just right, Carter hopes to make a full run at the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2008.

At the onset, the prospects look pretty good. Although Carter, a veteran of the Hooters Pro Cup Series, has never raced at Daytona, the next two events – Salem Speedway and Iowa Speedway – are familiar territory to the second-generation racer.

“I had never seen the place (Salem) until last year when we went there with our Hooters Pro Cup team,” said Carter. “We sat on the pole with a new track record and finished second in the race, so we felt pretty good about that.”

Carter also felt pretty good last year at Iowa where he won the race, which was event number two in the Hooters Pro Cup championship series trail.

From there though, the ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule gets blurrier for Carter who will be visiting tracks, for the most part, he’s never seen before.

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